Hess Co. (NYSE:HES) Shares Purchased by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc increased its position in shares of Hess Co. (NYSE:HES - Free Report) by 30.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 139,896 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 32,995 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Hess were worth $18,608,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. J.Safra Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Hess during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Groupama Asset Managment raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 22.7% in the third quarter. Groupama Asset Managment now owns 22,606 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 4,186 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd raised its holdings in shares of Hess by 59.8% in the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 262 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 98 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Hess in the third quarter worth $37,000. 88.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Hess in a report on Monday. They issued a "hold" rating for the company. Pickering Energy Partners raised Hess to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised Hess from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $151.00 to $193.00 in a research report on Monday, December 9th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Hess from $185.00 to $186.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Hess from $145.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $170.60.

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Hess Price Performance

HES stock opened at $143.79 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $144.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $140.10. Hess Co. has a 12-month low of $123.79 and a 12-month high of $163.98. The company has a current ratio of 1.12, a quick ratio of 1.13 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market cap of $44.33 billion, a PE ratio of 15.98 and a beta of 1.21.

Hess (NYSE:HES - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The oil and gas producer reported $1.76 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.44 by $0.32. Hess had a return on equity of 26.32% and a net margin of 21.27%. As a group, research analysts predict that Hess Co. will post 8.08 EPS for the current year.

Hess Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.50 per share. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.39%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 17th. Hess's dividend payout ratio is presently 22.22%.

About Hess

Hess Corporation, an exploration and production company, explores, develops, produces, purchases, transports, and sells crude oil, natural gas liquids (NGLs), and natural gas. The company operates in two segments, Exploration and Production, and Midstream. It conducts production operations primarily in the United States, Guyana, the Malaysia/Thailand Joint Development Area, and Malaysia; and exploration activities principally offshore Guyana, the U.S.

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